Off the Shelf: Penny Dreadful

A collection focusing on the immediate events before the Penny Dreadful series proper: Malcolm & Vanessa beginning their search for Mina.

Story-wise, the graphic novel is just ok. We get a little backstory on Mina’s actual choices under the thrall of Dracula & we find out what happens to her husband Harker. But the fun of the first season was seeing how the interactions between Malcolm, Frankenstein, Ethan & Vanessa deepened or subverted the original characterizations of the novel & with the original characters like Harker or Lucy Westerna returned, they don’t really have any substance or anything to do.

Art-wise, the book is freaking gorgeous. A hybrid of photorealistic drawing, sketchy kinetic layout & layers of color & symbols make for an impressive presentation that invites you to look further. This one is for the diehard fans & the completists, not really for the merely curious or those new to the show.